The Land
Mountains/Plateaus: Ural Mountains are located along eastern edge of the Russian Plain. They are a long section of mountains and plateaus and rise from 1,150 feet to 1,500 feet. The Ural Mountains extend 1,300 miles from the Arctic Coast to Kazakhstan, and it forms the traditional border between Europe and Asia. The Central Siberian Plateau is in between the Yenisey and the Lena River. It ranges in elevation from 1,000 to 2,300 feet.
Plains: The West Siberian Plain covers more than 1 million square miles, which is about one-seventh of Russia’s total land area, and it is 1,200 miles long from the Urals to the Yenisey and 1,500 miles from the Arctic Ocean to the bottom of the Altai Mountains. Floodplains and some of the world’s biggest swamps are usually in the northern part, and higher and drier land is located in the southern part.
Water System: The five main drainage systems are the Arctic, Pacific, Baltic, Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea. The Ob River is 2,268 miles long, the Irtysh extends 3,362 miles, the Yenisey 2,540 miles, and the Lena is 2,734 miles long. The Volga is the longest European river; it rises in the Valdai Hills northwest of Moscow and flows 2,193 miles to the Caspian Sea.
Climate & Vegetation: The factors that cause Russia to have a variable climate are the size and shape of Russia. It is open to the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans which influence the climate of Russia. In effect there are only two seasons summer and winter. Spring and Fall are brief periods of very rapid change from one extreme to the other. Precipitation is low throughout Russia because of the Subarctic and Tundra climate regions, where some trees and mosses grow.
Population & Culture: Russians are more than 4/5 of the country’s population, but it is plenty ethnically diverse. There are more than 120 ethnic groups, and many have their own national territories speaking more than 100 languages. Russia population can be divided into Indo-European groups. These are the East Slavic speakers; the Altaic including Turkic, Manchu-Tungus, and Mongolian; the Uralic including Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic; and the Caucasian group including Abkhazo-Adyghian and Nakho-Dagestanian.
Early History & Revolution & Change: Indo-European, Ural-Altaic, and many others have occupied Russia since the 2nd millennium BCE. Greek and Iranian settlements appeared in the southernmost parts of Ukraine. Most trading was away from the northern forests, but particularly west of the Urals and between the Kama and Volga rivers. The Huns, Avars, Goths, and Magyars passed over the same area briefly through the 4th and 9th centuries CE. During that time the East Slavs were spreading south and east from an area between the Elbe River and the Pripet Marshes. During the 9th century was a penetration into the area from the north and south by northern European and Middle Eastern merchant adventurers. This exposed their society to new economic, cultural, and political forces.
Changing Economies, Natural Resources, Environmental use/concerns: With Russia’s great size and abundant natural resources it played a huge role in the Soviet Union Economy. The first couple of decades with the Soviet regime had great economic advances, like mining, metallurgy, and heavy engineering, the expansion of the railway network, and a massive increase in energy supply. In 1960’s was the second phase of the Soviet industrial development. In addition to the industries- especially in the production of oil, gas, and electricity and in the chemical industries- there was a marked diversification in industrial output, including a limited expansion in consumer goods. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian government transformed the communist economy to a one based on capitalist principles. Most major companies established privately owned industrial and commercial ventures and privatizing state-owned enterprises. The harshness of the environment has a small proportion of land that is available for farming. About 3/5 of Russian farmland is used to grow crops. The main product of the Russian farming has always been grain. Wheat is the chief cereal, next by barley, rye, and oats. More than 1/3 of the area is devoted to fodder crops, which is sown grasses, clovers, root crops, and, in the southern districts, corn(maize).
Elijah Peters
Block 1
RUSSIA
The Land
Mountains/Plateaus: Ural Mountains are located along eastern edge of the Russian Plain. They are a long section of mountains and plateaus and rise from 1,150 feet to 1,500 feet. The Ural Mountains extend 1,300 miles from the Arctic Coast to Kazakhstan, and it forms the traditional border between Europe and Asia. The Central Siberian Plateau is in between the Yenisey and the Lena River. It ranges in elevation from 1,000 to 2,300 feet.
Plains: The West Siberian Plain covers more than 1 million square miles, which is about one-seventh of Russia’s total land area, and it is 1,200 miles long from the Urals to the Yenisey and 1,500 miles from the Arctic Ocean to the bottom of the Altai Mountains. Floodplains and some of the world’s biggest swamps are usually in the northern part, and higher and drier land is located in the southern part.
Water System: The five main drainage systems are the Arctic, Pacific, Baltic, Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea. The Ob River is 2,268 miles long, the Irtysh extends 3,362 miles, the Yenisey 2,540 miles, and the Lena is 2,734 miles long. The Volga is the longest European river; it rises in the Valdai Hills northwest of Moscow and flows 2,193 miles to the Caspian Sea.
Climate & Vegetation: The factors that cause Russia to have a variable climate are the size and shape of Russia. It is open to the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans which influence the climate of Russia. In effect there are only two seasons summer and winter. Spring and Fall are brief periods of very rapid change from one extreme to the other. Precipitation is low throughout Russia because of the Subarctic and Tundra climate regions, where some trees and mosses grow.
Population & Culture: Russians are more than 4/5 of the country’s population, but it is plenty ethnically diverse. There are more than 120 ethnic groups, and many have their own national territories speaking more than 100 languages. Russia population can be divided into Indo-European groups. These are the East Slavic speakers; the Altaic including Turkic, Manchu-Tungus, and Mongolian; the Uralic including Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic; and the Caucasian group including Abkhazo-Adyghian and Nakho-Dagestanian.
Early History & Revolution & Change: Indo-European, Ural-Altaic, and many others have occupied Russia since the 2nd millennium BCE. Greek and Iranian settlements appeared in the southernmost parts of Ukraine. Most trading was away from the northern forests, but particularly west of the Urals and between the Kama and Volga rivers. The Huns, Avars, Goths, and Magyars passed over the same area briefly through the 4th and 9th centuries CE. During that time the East Slavs were spreading south and east from an area between the Elbe River and the Pripet Marshes. During the 9th century was a penetration into the area from the north and south by northern European and Middle Eastern merchant adventurers. This exposed their society to new economic, cultural, and political forces.
Changing Economies, Natural Resources, Environmental use/concerns: With Russia’s great size and abundant natural resources it played a huge role in the Soviet Union Economy. The first couple of decades with the Soviet regime had great economic advances, like mining, metallurgy, and heavy engineering, the expansion of the railway network, and a massive increase in energy supply. In 1960’s was the second phase of the Soviet industrial development. In addition to the industries- especially in the production of oil, gas, and electricity and in the chemical industries- there was a marked diversification in industrial output, including a limited expansion in consumer goods. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian government transformed the communist economy to a one based on capitalist principles. Most major companies established privately owned industrial and commercial ventures and privatizing state-owned enterprises. The harshness of the environment has a small proportion of land that is available for farming. About 3/5 of Russian farmland is used to grow crops. The main product of the Russian farming has always been grain. Wheat is the chief cereal, next by barley, rye, and oats. More than 1/3 of the area is devoted to fodder crops, which is sown grasses, clovers, root crops, and, in the southern districts, corn(maize).
Global Issues: They are selling weapons like ammunition, helicopter gunships, and armored vehicles, and it has resulted in human rights violations. Russia is one of the largest armed suppliers to Sudan. Attacks in Darfur continue because of the helicopter gunships provided by the Russian Federation.
Works Cited
<http://quest.eb.com/>
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/513251/Russia/38604/Economy>
<http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=ii>
<http://www.globalissues.org/news/2012/02/09/12673>